


Friction

by ryttu3k



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: X & Y | Pokemon X & Y Versions
Genre: Awkward Flirting, First Aid, First Meetings, Innuendo, M/M, Minor Injuries, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-13
Updated: 2015-05-13
Packaged: 2018-03-30 09:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3930895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryttu3k/pseuds/ryttu3k
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After his less-than-gentle encounter with Team Rocket, Professor Sycamore is in need of some attention. Thankfully, that hot new electrician just happens to be around... Post-XY010.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friction

"Yo. Heard you had a bit of an adventure today!"

Straightening up with a wince from where he was inspecting a shattered window, Professor Augustine Sycamore smiled at the speaker - a sturdy-looking man in overalls and an oil-splattered hat, tool kit in one hand. "You must be Meyer," he said, "Clemont and Bonnie said that they'd tell you about the repair work we need."

"Right!" Meyer offered Augustine his hand, shaking the one he offered back firmly, his skin warm and rough and a surprisingly pleasant fragrance of machine oil around him. "Well, I'm no glazier - but you had some mechanics that got damaged, right? Lead the way!"

"Over this way!"

Meyer following behind, Augustine led him to the edge of the enclosure, where one of the environmental controls that kept it at a comfortable heat and temperature for the Pokemon had been scraped by the van that Team Rocket had used. Immediately, Meyer got to work, crouching beside it and examining the delicate mechanics.

"Well," he said slowly, his big hands deceptively delicate as they prodded at the internal workings, "The inside should be easy enough to fix. You'll have to put in an order to get a new outer casing, but you can just use a temporary one for now, I can pop back to the shop and get one... Professor?"

Augustine blinked, shaking his head. He had been distracted, caught up by the focus on Meyer's face, the gentleness of his hands as he had examined the environmental controls. "Sorry! Right! Is there anything you need?"

"Could I have a glass of water, please?" Meyer said with a grin that should not have been so utterly charming.

Augustine smiled back before he had even thought about it. "Of course," he murmured, and hurried away, head down and cheeks warm.

Oh, yes, Meyer was charming. There was no doubt about it - charming and warm and dedicated, devoted to his work, and there was absolutely no reason why Augustine should have been blushing over a charming, attractive man whose big, rough, warm hands could touch with such unexpected softness.

He filled a glass with cold water, and promptly dumped it straight over his own face.

With a groan, Augustine leaned against the basin, letting water drip off his skin and his shoulders slumping. It had been a little too long a day for him - being tied up and abducted, having his work stolen, nearly being killed by a maniacal Mega Meowth mecha, being saved by a few children, some Pokemon, and a bird-themed superhero, and now the discovery that apparently he had a Thing for machine oil-scented electricians.

And to top it off, he hurt all over, bruised and battered from being thrown around in the truck, his arms and throat burning where the ropes had rubbed his skin raw. If he took the rest of the afternoon off and spent a few hours soaking in a hot bath, would anyone really blame him?

Meyer would be thirsty, waiting for his water. With a sigh, Augustine wiped the excess water from his face, filled the glass again, fixed a perfectly relaxed, no-of-course-I'm-not-lusting-over-you-and-your-big-rough-warm-hands-and-your-mysteriously-alluring-fragrant-flavour-of-oil-why-would-you-think-that smile on his face, and made his way back out to the Pokemon enclosure.

"Ooh, thanks," Meyer said appreciatively as he handed him the water, hovering awkwardly as the other man drank deeply, Augustine's gaze going unerringly to the way his Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "I needed that."

"Glad to be of help!" Augustine said cheerfully, reaching for the empty glass. "Ah, I suppose if you need anything else, just call?"

"I will." Meyer was smiling as he turned to hand the glass back, then let out an exclamation, reaching for Augustine's wrist before he could straighten up. "Whoa, what happened?"

Augustine blinked, glancing down at Meyer's hand wrapped gently and loosely around his wrist, his thumb barely brushing one of the red marks that the ropes had left on his skin. "Oh - the rope," he said quietly, crouching so that he and Meyer were on the same level. "From when they grabbed me. They weren't very gentle."

Meyer let out a wordless sound of something that could have been anger. "Bonnie didn't tell me that they hurt you... that, uh, that Blaziken Mask guy should have hit them harder." He sighed, then tugged gently on Augustine's wrist. "Sit down. I have something in my kit for burns, I get them all the time."

Words somewhat failing him, Augustine sat obediently, folding his hands in his lap as Meyer rummaged through his kit.

Why did Meyer care? Certainly, he would have heard about their exploits from his children - but he seemed almost personally slighted, muttering little epitaphs under his breath against the Team Rocket members that had been responsible for everything.

"Do you get burns often?" Augustine started awkwardly, shifting in the grass. "I suppose you could get electrical burns..."

"Nah, they're -" Meyer paused sharply, then nodded. "Yeah, mostly electrical and friction. You don't want to know what happens if you touch a running fan belt." Throwing a grin over his shoulder, he turned back, let out an, "Aha!" and straightened up, a little tub of burn ointment in his hand. "Right! Give me your arm."

Augustine wavered for a moment, suddenly unsure whether extended skin-on-skin contact would be a good idea. "It's fine," he tried to say, "We have first-aid kits in the lab, I can..."

"Don't be silly," Meyer exclaimed cheerfully, "I can do you here! Tell me if you need me to slow down or be more gentle or something, okay?"

Sincerely wishing the first thought in his head hadn't been, 'That's okay, I like it rough', Augustine nodded mareepishly. "If you insist."

Was he blushing? He was fairly sure he was blushing as Meyer took his hand again, rubbing a thumb over the back to smooth on the ointment, his movements steady and gentle. Almost against his will, he made a soft sound, halfway between a gasp and a groan.

Meyer stopped immediately, glancing up at him with concern in his deep brown eyes. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"

"No," he smiled reassuringly, "Sorry, it just - it's fine. Really. Keep going?"

Just a bit of first-aid. Who cared if it involved a bit of holding hands?

A skeptical look crossed Meyer's face. "Well, if you say so," he shrugged, returning his focus to Augustine's arm. "I'm almost done with this arm, anyway."

Augustine found himself grateful that it was only his forearms and the rope that had rubbed against his throat. He wasn't sure he would be able to take much more of the touching, each movement sending little pulses of warmth through his skin, goosebumps rising in their wake at the combination of cool ointment and warm skin.

Still, he was grateful when Meyer finished smoothing the ointment over his throat and collarbones, practically holding his breath at Meyer's proximity, sure that he could feel the heat radiating from Augustine's face. With his gaze fixed on the injuries and hat abandoned at the side, there were only scant inches between them, a tiny distance from Augustine burying his nose in Meyer's hair, so close he could smell shampoo mixed in with machine oil and gentle sweat.

"All better!" Meyer proclaimed as he sat back on his heels, reaching for an oil-stained cloth to wipe his fingers clean. "There, how does that feel?"

"Much better," he breathed, realising as he spoke that it was true - while he still ached, the sting was gone, at the very least. "Thanks. You didn't have to do that, but..."

"I wanted to." Meyer was giving him another look, curious and searching, something warm and affectionate in his expression. "I mean - Bonnie said you protected her and Serena over your own research, even. That means a lot to me. You're a good man."

And now he was fairly sure his cheeks were warm again, and he ducked his head, mentally kicking himself for acting like an adolescent schoolgirl. "They're good kids," he countered, "You should be very proud of them."

Meyer grinned broadly. "Oh, believe me, I am! So that's why I'm really grateful you looked out for them today. There's not too many people who'd do that - look out for the kids instead of their life's work. You're pretty special, Professor." And then he ducked his own head, a hint of red just visible across his tanned cheeks. "So, uh," he pushed on hastily, "Anything else hurting?"

"Well, I landed on my tail bone when they threw me," Augustine said, realised what he had said an instant after he had already said it, and hastily flailed. "You don't have to rub ointment into that, though!"

"Oh yeah, I'll just kiss it better, huh?" Meyer grinned through some rather visible fluster, grabbing his hat and yanking it back on his head, dragging it low over his eyes. "Sorry, Professor, we don't know each other _that_ well yet!"

Augustine actually managed a laugh, carefully getting to his feet. "Buy me a drink first and we'll see how things go," he teased, reaching for the glass. "I'll let you get back to it. Thanks for the, uh, ointment."

"Any time," Meyer smiled back, his hat still covering his eyes, cheeks still red. "Thanks for the water."

If Augustine was smiling as he turned back to the labs to pack his belongings before heading home for the day, no one could really blame him - the flirting had been, well, kind of fun, even if he had been genuinely flustered and flailing at times.

But then, so had Meyer, hadn't he? And he definitely noted the 'yet'... Perhaps he would see how things went, perhaps he would ask him back to the labs any time anything needed repairing... He was sure he could accidentally break plenty of electronics... (Really, he could - Augustine was not known for his gracefulness.)

Hands shoved in his labcoat pockets, Augustine returned to his office with a smile on his face.

He had a feeling this would not be the last he would see of Meyer - and whatever came next, he was looking forward to it.


End file.
